On the morning of 11 March 1943, Fw190s from IV./JG5 took off from their base to escort the mighty battleship Tirpitz and a screening fleet of escort destroyers and torpedo boats, at the start of a voyage north to Bogen Bay during Operation Rostock. Designed to escape the increasingly frequent British bombing raids, Tirpitz would leave southern Norway to join an impressive German naval battle fleet gathering near Narvik, one of the largest German naval bases in Norway. Together with the Scharnhorst, the heavy cruiser Lützow, and the light cruiser Nürnberg, they would pose a grave threat to the Arctic convoys. After repeated attempts to sink her, Tirpitz was eventually destroyed by the RAF at her anchorage in Altenfiord, 12 November 1944.

Signatures: Signed by Tirpitz survivor Willi Volsing, and JG5 pilot Kurt Schulze.

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